February 24, 2012

Who is Brandon Oldenburg wearing to the Oscars? Fort Worth's Dickies

One of director Brandon Oldenburg's first projects was filming his school's field trips.

As a fourth grader at Birdville's Holiday Heights Elementary School in North Richland Hills, Oldenburg recalls using his camera to document his class taking a school bus to Fort Worth's Omni iMAX Theatre. They saw "Hail, Columbia," about a space shuttle launch.

"It looked like "The Wonder Years," people just waving at the camera real fast," said Oldenburg, of Shreveport, La. (left, in a photo by Daymon Gardner)

He'll be prepared if luck goes his way. He is working on an acceptance speech, just in case, after receiving a note from the Oscar organizers that read: “remember, spontaneity takes preparation.”

Whatever happens, Oldenburg, 38, will be decked out in unusual duds. Fort Worth-based workwear maker Dickies is making custom tuxedos for Oldenburg and film co-director William Joyce, an author and illustrator. (Oldenburg says his wife, Shannon Duskin Oldenburg, is wearing a dress created by a costume designer, not Dickies. She's also a 1991 Richland High grad).

The tuxedos are made from the same black twill as Dickies 874 work pants and classic Eisenhower jacket, 65 percent polyester and 35 percent cotton. The jackets have satin trim and a satin shawl collar and silver buttons with the Dickie's logo. Per Oldenburg's request, the jackets are lined with high-visibility orange and his pants have a cell phone pocket.

It's the company's first Oscar tuxedo, said Matthew McCartin, vice president of marketing for Dickies. (Dickies photos, below).

"It was kind of a neat experience. We used one of our pattern makers. We went to Louisiana and took their measurements and cut the pattern," McCartin said. "That tux will last him 30, 40 years, it is very durable."